Category: GI

EA for ERAS 2022

Inspired by Wang et al 2022.[1] EA protocol used in Wang et al 2022 (left), and what I would do in the same circumstances (right). EA – electroacupunctureERAS – enhanced recovery after surgeryPOI – postoperative ileusMA – manual acupunctureTEAS – transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (a form of TENS)TTNS – transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (a form … Continue reading EA for ERAS 2022 →

Hot flushes and FABP2

Inspired by Chen et al 2022.[1] Figure 1 from reference 2. FABP2 – fatty acid binding protein 2FSH – follicle stimulating hormonehs-CRP – high sensitivity C-reactive proteinTNF-α – tumour necrosis factor alphaIP10 – interferon-inducible protein 10MCP-1 – monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 key to acronyms This week I am highlighting a paper that came up on … Continue reading Hot flushes and FABP2 →

Smartphone-controlled TENS

Inspired by Joan Gan et al 2021 and Sha et al 2022.[1,2] Joan Gan et al Figure 1.[1] TENS – transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulationEA – electroacupunctureSCEA – smartphone-controlled EA (note this was not a form of EA)key to acronyms I found this paper from last year thanks to a letter written in response, which was … Continue reading Smartphone-controlled TENS →

Acupuncture for CD 2022

Inspired by Bao et al 2022.[1] Cladogram from Bao et al 2022. A cladogram is a diagram used to show relationships between organisms – from the Greek clados (branch) and gramma (character). CD – Crohn’s DiseaseMA – manual acupunctureCDAI – Crohn’s Disease Activity IndexEA – electroacupunctureCDEIS – Crohn’s Disease Endoscopic Index of SeverityHS – Histopathological … Continue reading Acupuncture for CD 2022 →

EA in FD 2022

Inspired by Wu et al, Yang et al, & Li et al 2022.[1–3] Image by Paweł Czerwiński on Unsplash. EA – electroacupunctureFD – functional dyspepsia or functional diarrhoeaFDys – functional dyspepsia (in this blog)FDr – functional diarrhoea (in this blog)IBS – irritable bowel syndrometid – ter in die (3 times a day)tds – ter die sumendus (to be … Continue reading EA in FD 2022 →

EA and the gut microbiome

Inspired by Wang et al 2021.[1] Photo by Magda Ehlers on Pexels.comWhilst I think EA is great in KOA, the most direct way of influencing the microbial diversity in the gut is through what we chose to put in it. All the data suggests that colourful vegetables are probably the most important component of diet … Continue reading EA and the gut microbiome →

ST36 EA for visceral hypersensitivity and indirect VNS

Stimulated by Chen et al 2021,[1] and Courties et al 2021.[2] Photo by Sora Shimazaki on Pexels.com EA – electroacupunctureIF – impact factorIBD – inflammatory bowel diseaseNGF – nerve growth factorTrkA – tropomyosin receptor kinase A (high affinity NGF receptor)TRPV1 – transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (aka capsaicin receptor)DRGs – dorsal root gangliaCAP – cholinergic … Continue reading ST36 EA for visceral hypersensitivity and indirect VNS →

EA vs Prucalopride in SCC

Stimulated by Liu et al 2020.[1] Protocol in Liu et al.[1]Diagram by MC. EA – electroacupunctureSCC – severe chronic constipationIF – impact factorCSBM – complete spontaneous bowel movement5–HT4 – 5–hydroxytryptamine 4 receptor key to acronyms This paper came out in December 2020, and I have been sitting on it ever since waiting for the urge … Continue reading EA vs Prucalopride in SCC →

Atraumatic glenohumeral dislocation, IBS and other stories

Stimulated by Qin et al 2020,[1] and Pei et al 2020.[2] Image modified from Figure 1 of Qin et al 2020.[1] The first paper I am highlighting this week is an adverse event report attributed to acupuncture. It is quite unusual for two reasons. First, as the title states, the case presented with a shoulder … Continue reading Atraumatic glenohumeral dislocation, IBS and other stories →